VMI Cyber Corps

Alumni and Friends of VMI:

Cyber Corps Numbers: 345

Last Week's Trivia Question: In the last update I asked if anyone remembered who VMI played in the NCAA Tournament in 1976. Not many folks had the correct answer. VMI defeated Tennessee and DePaul and lost to Rutger in the regional final. Many did remember (me too) that the officiating in that game was pathetic.

Citadel Report on "20/20" and "60 Minutes": Well, The Citadel was featured recently on both "20/20" and "60 Minutes." When "20/20" interviewed one of the women who recently left The Citadel she came across (in my opinion) as rather whiny. She indicated that upperclassmen would ask her about the mess hall menus, etc. Do tell? Admittedly, they did ask her about the "burning" incident and that didn't make the Citadel look too good. All in all, I think The Citadel came out with a grade of "C" for the "20/20" segment.

The "60 Minutes" segment was a different story. In my opinion The Citadel didn't help itself much. "60 Minutes" interviewed the lady who had resigned whose brother also resigned. At one point in the segment Ed Bradley was interviewing one of The Citadel spokesman. At issue was an allegation that two Citadel cadets had reported hazing to some higher ups with the implication that these reports were ignored. If I remember correctly The Citadel spokesman stated that these two cadets had failed to report someone for making popcorn in their room (or something similar to that). It was not a good moment for The Citadel and the spokesman (again, in my opinion) came across as looking rather silly for making such a statement and attempting to make a comparison. If I can get ahold of a copy of the transcript, I'll pass it along. I give The Citadel a grade of D- for the "60 Minutes" segment. One of our Cyber Corps participants e-mailed me about the "60 Minutes" segment and had this to say:

" 60 Minutes on the other hand...Well our friends in SC seem to have mishandled this episode and they now have a major PR problem. Ed Bradley made their public relations officer look like a fool. The girl's brother was a 1st classman that resigned over the incidents his sister had to endure. It appears as though the chain of command broke down and lost sight of the end goal."

More on The Citadel: A report dated March 21 indicates that The Citadel is seeking the help of local leaders in critiquing where the school's plan to assimilate women into the Corps of Cadets went wrong and what they could reasonably do to avoid future turmoil. The report is in the hands of the school's governing body and the initial reaction has been positive. Most of the suggestions require more common sense than money.

VMI Opting to Take More Time: In light of what's been happening at The Citadel, I for one am glad that VMI decided to wait a year before admitting women. Certainly provides our corps with more time to prepare and get it right.

Gen Bunting at Addresses Alumni Luncheon: One of our participants recently attended an alumni luncheon in Lynchburg where Gen Bunting addressed the group. Our participant encourages all alumni, if given the opportunity, to attend alumni functions where Gen Bunting is speaking. As our participant states, "I left feeling as though the fate of VMI was in the hands of a person who had the qualities required to guide us through."

Status of Judge Kiser: Seems that Judge Kiser has either retired or will be retiring. However, it seems that he will still be active on the VMI case for the next several years. I think this is good news as Judge Kiser's common sense approach has benefitted VMI in the past and should continue to do so throughout the first several years of co-education.

A Letter from Eric Iannelli, Editor-in-Chief of The Cadet Newspaper: Today I received a letter from Eric. For those who have been participants for a while, you'll remember that our group had donated some money to The Cadet for the purposes of purchasing a scanner. I don't remember exactly how much we donated, but I think it was between $500 - 600. Anyway, Eric's letter contained the following:

"On behalf of the Cadet newspaper, would like to extend my most sincere appreciation for your generosity. Your donation to the Cadet has enabled us to purchase two high quality computers and one scanner. Not only will the computers allow us to complete the layout process more efficiently, but the scanner has also allowed us to reproduce photographs electronically as opposed to the old-fashioned "cut and paste" methods. In addition, the scanner has been a great asset to the production of our newspaper home page on the internet, which will be fully functional in the near future. Once again, every member on the newspaper staff is extremely appreciative of your donation and pleased with the purchases. Thank you for your continued support."

A job well done for the Cyber Corps.

VMI Wrestling: Al Miller e-mailed that VMI's four wrestlers did the Institute proud in the NCAA Wrestling Tournament last week. Two of them barely missed getting into the contention for All American honors. Our four wrestlers were: Adam Mickiewicz, Jason Foresman, Maurice Edgington and Les Apedoe.

VMI Baseball: Seems that our baseball team is still struggline, but did manage to take two out of three from Appy State last weekend.

Reminder: Next weekend is the Alumni Association meeting and the Legacy Weekend. If you can, make an effort to attend.

That's all for this week. Happy Easter to all!!!

Yours in the Spirit,
RB Lane '75

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Last Updated: October 11, 2009

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